Wisdom and Knowledge

For some reason I had always assumed that knowledge and wisdom were the same but as I grow and the Lord continues to show me things I see that they are different and can be as opposite as right and wrong and hot and cold.

Knowledge is the sum of what is known. Known is to be intimately familiar with; to discern, recognize, regard, acknowledge, to pay heed to, to approve and learn. Knowledge is what we know.

Wisdom however is to discern what is right from wrong. Discernment can not be made correctly and fully without God's help and guidance.

The book of Job is a good illustration of this principle. Job’s buddies accused Job of sinning against God because of their knowledge of what happens to wicked people and what was happening to Job. What was happening to Job looked the same as signs and consequences that follow after someone who has sinned against God but Job had not sinned against the God. The signs and consequences were the same as if he had sinned against God but their presumptions were wrong even though they used knowledge. Had they sought God for wisdom in this matter things probably would had been different at the end of the written account.

Proverb 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do no depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.”

In the end Job was honored by God, God gave Job more children, restored his health and gave him twice the fortune as he had before and his friends ended up looking like the fools and arrogant ones.

Ecclesiastes 10:1 "Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, an ounce of foolishness can out weigh a pound of wisdom and honor. The hearts of the wise lead them to do right, and the hearts of the foolish lead them to do evil."

Do not assume something of someone based on your understanding and how something may look to you. Your understanding may not be the truth.

Proverbs 3:13-20 “Happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding. For the profit of wisdom is better then silver and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. She offers you life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left. She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying. Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly. By wisdom the LORD founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens. By his knowledge the deep fountains of earth burst forth, and clouds poured down rain.”

We need to base our decisions on wisdom and not just on knowledge alone.

In this time and age people have lots of knowledge and that knowledge is taken as wisdom but it is not. Some people believe just because they see and hear it on television then it is true. Just because the man who plays Superman on TV fly's, doesn't mean he fly's in real life.

Recently a news report said that a child at my wife's school had been abducted from the school but the fact was she was abducted at her home not the school where she attends. Thank God she was found by use of an Amber Alert and no harm had came upon her.

True discernment and wisdom come from God. God word says in James chapter 1:5 "If you need wisdom- if you want to know what God wants you to do- ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do."

If we don't trust God and we are doubtful at him working in our life - how can we expect to gain and receive anything from God?

The sad thing is there are many people who trust in people more then God. They trust in politicians and doctors and even the weatherman more then God. They believe these individuals are the final word and if those poor souls believe such things then are in dire straits.

Jeremiah 17:5 "This is what the LORD says: "Cursed are those whose who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the LORD. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives. But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit."